Mirror an iPad2 on your Mac Laptop with Reflection App

Dreams come true, and I’m thrilled to share this one with you. Using the $15 Reflection App on an Apple computer, it’s now possible to MIRROR the screen of an iPad2 or iPhone4S right on your screen. This essentially makes your Apple computer function like an AppleTV for iOS mirroring, except you don’t need to purchase and install a $99 AppleTV with a HDMI cable. This is HUGE for teachers and anyone else needing to share an iPad screen with students over a projector. Previously, iDemo was the only software solution which “kind of” offered this functionality, but it required people to jailbreak their devices. While iDemo is cross-platform, the Reflection App is not. iDemo also required an app (like ScreenSplitr) be installed on your jailbroken iOS device to mirror. With the Reflection App, you don’t need to install anything on your iPad2 or iPhone4S.

After installing the Reflection App on your Mac computer, run the application. With your iPad2 or iPhone4S connected to the same wifi network as your computer, double click your home key and swipe your app task bar at the bottom to the right to show your iPod controls and mirroring options. Click the mirroring button and select your laptop from the available selections. (If you have Apple TVs or Apple wireless base stations supporting AirPlay (like an Airport Express) on your network those will show up in the list too.)

This is great news! I’ve been looking for iDemo-like functionality without having to jailbreak, so this seems really promising. One question I have is if the Reflection app will allow mirroring if you’re connected to GUEST wifi networks at hotels & conference centers. I previously had problems mirroring using Airplay and the AppleTV method because many hotel & conference networks do not allow “file sharing” which is apparently the method Airplay employs to mirroring. I was a bit discouraged that I wouldn’t be able to take my AppleTV with me to presentations and mirror wirelessly whenever I wanted to. I’m wondering if the Refection app will work the same way or if it will resolve this issue?